FindIt@Bham

The British Library has been subject to a cyberattack. Where possible, we will satisfy your request via alternative routes, but please be aware there may be an adverse impact on our inter-library loan service. (November 2023)

If material is not held in any University of Birmingham library, we will try to find a copy for you from another library. Please confirm we do not hold the item already using FindIt@Bham in the first instance before placing a request. The service is open to all current University of Birmingham students and staff.

• You can request books, articles, reports, conference proceedings, international theses as well as other materials.
• Journal articles are generally emailed to you as PDFs.
• You can only order one article per journal issue or one chapter per book due to copyright regulations. 
• Some older or more expensive items may be loaned to us for consultation use in the library only. 
• Requests for most UK Doctoral dissertations should be made via EThOS. You should only place an interlibrary loan request for UK PhD thesis if Ethos is unable to supply a copy. 

Find out more about interlibrary loans.

1. Go to FindIt@Bham and login, using your university account.
2. Perform a search to check that we don't already have a copy of the item you need.
3. Go to the results screen and select Expand beyond Library Resources.
4. Your search will be matched with results outside our collections, as well as those we do hold. The link ‘No online full text, check for print journal/book…’ confirms that we don’t have this article in our electronic collections.
5. Click the 'No online full text, check for print journal/book' link. 
6. A menu appears. Select the link ‘Interlibrary loan request (can take up to four working days)’. This takes you to the Interlibrary Loan Request form.
7. The form has been pre-populated with details of the article. Prepopulating the form means you’ll get your item quicker.
8. Read the copyright declaration and tick the box to confirm you understand the copyright statement and will agree to abide by it.
9. Select the ‘Request’ button.

If the item you need isn’t returned when you select ‘Expand beyond Library Resources’, click the three dots in the top right-hand corner of the and select “InterLibrary Loan requests”. Then complete the form.

After submitting your request, you will be able to view the details in your library account on FindIt@Bham. Your request will be processed by Document Supply, who will get in touch with you if they need more information to action your request.

You will receive an email either containing a link to an electronic version of an article/chapter or informing you that the item is ready to collect.